The Heimlich maneuver is a well-known method of treating choking victims, and refers to a specific technique. The technique requires that a first aid provider grasp the victim from behind, wrap his arms around the victims waist, clasp one hand over the first of the opposite hand, and yank with both hands upwardly and posteriorly into the upper abdomen of the victim, avoiding compression of the rib cage with the arms. This process should dislodge any object obstructing the victim's airway, and may be repeated several times in order to do so.
The abdominal thrusts required for the method should be accomplished abruptly, and should be quite deep. Abdominal thrusts that are too delicate to abruptly pressurize the victim's airway below the lodged obstruction are not effective, but abdominal thrusts that are too deep may unnecessarily injure the victim (in rare instances, the injury may be severe, including rupture of the stomach, fracture of the ribs or xiphoid process, thrombus formation in the aortic aneurysm). It may be difficult for first aid providers to gauge the necessary depth of the abdominal compression, or the speed of compression and level of force needed for a proper abdominal thrust.
Chest compression monitoring during the course of CPR is now possible with the Real CPR Help® technology marketed by ZOLL Medical Corporation. This technology is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,390,996, 7,108,665, and 7,429,250, and includes the use of an accelerometer to measure accelerations of the chest and calculating the depth of each compression from the acceleration signal. The technology is used in ZOLL's Real CPR Help® compression depth monitoring system to provides real-time rate and depth CPR feedback for manual CPR providers. Commercially, it is implemented in ZOLL's electrode pads, such as the CPR-D•Padz® electrode pads. It is also implemented for training use in the iPhone app PocketCPR®. The compression monitor and its method of use can be adapted for use in training and clinical practice of the Heimlich maneuver.